"The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He
is close to those who trust in Him."
We all disagree on topics with other people. It is inevitable and
expected. Not everyone will agree on all points and approaches to the
task at hand or the long-term strategy, or who should make the
presentation or sales call. Whenever there is a collection of people to
make a decision there will be dissenters. Dissenting is not a bad
thing but in the workplace a dissenting vote can mean more than just
disagreeing and moving on. At work a disagreement with another person
can be taken as a full-frontal assault, a stab at someone's competence,
or to the person who is being disagreed with a lack of loyalty from
their peers. Thus, at work, getting other people to agree and take your
side can become a sophisticated weave of politicking. And, that happens
whether we like it or not. We are taught early on to "have the room
with us before making a presentation". That means that before the
meeting we are to have gotten around to everyone who is going to be in
attendance and be sure that they know what is going to be presented and
get enough support that in the meeting itself there are no surprises and
the pitch or proposal gets enough support to move forward. We are
taught this politicking very young in our careers and then we spend the
rest of our work life trying to master the lesson. By nature, I like to
think I am more agreeable than disagreeable. I like to see others
succeed so crossing paths with others is uncomfortable and sticks with
me. I have lost many a night's sleep thinking about how someone else is
going to feel about my disagreement and counter point of view. I worry
about not only how they will feel at the time, but what will be the
long-term ramifications and what I can expect back in return in the
future? Where will my decision today sit me with this person and others
in the future? It's a silly concern, but I tell you this, because I
think it is one that we all face regularly in our jobs. And when we are
put in this situation, we need to look beyond ourselves to bring us the
peace to continue to stand by a decision and do what we think is right
and correct for the issue at hand.
After many of those sleepless nights,
I finally began to turn these concerns over to God and I tried to let
go of my downstream worries and stay in the moment. What I have learned
is that God is there to bring us peace within the turmoil of our work.
He knows what it feels like to take a counter point of view and the
looks, jeers and rejections that come from holding firm and resolute.
Imagine the rejection and repercussions that came for Jesus when He
swept through the Temple, upending the tables of the merchants! Not only
was He taking a strong stand he was certainly crossing others in their
livelihood and their work. Jesus knows what we feel in our jobs. God
gives us His word that He will bring us the peace we need, if we will
call on him; "The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He
is close to those who trust in Him." Today starts a three-day weekend
and I suspect that there are many of us who will go into this weekend
with one or more of these nagging work problems. Before you leave the
office today, take a moment to sit at your desk or work-station, and ask
God to give you the peace and refuge that you need to leave the
disagreements, the crossings, the politics of work, at the office for
the weekend. Ask Him to take the labor out of this weekend and replace
the worry and concern with peace. Honor Him this long weekend for
accepting that request by replacing every doubting thought with prayer
of praise and thanks for being a God who comes to work with us so that
we can live out His purpose!
From one of God's Laborers to another, Happy Labor Day weekend!
Reference: Nahum 1:7 (New Living Translation)
No comments:
Post a Comment